It’s been uber quiet in the Big Brother house and August 30th is no exception. The most interesting houseguests by far remain Victor and Paul, especially given the couple dynamics of the showmances. Natalie and James have slipped into a pattern where she complains constantly while James wistfully wishes they could be kissing right now. It’s not making for the most funtacular feeds.

Michelle… prone

Meech does her best to create excitement from her prone-under-the-blankets-position because she made some comment about selling Big Brother houseguest stolen items on eBay. This happens just as feedsters put it together that each current houseguest has been pissy about missing items, some tweets about this even list out the missing items. At one point Victor even says that he found his missing hoodie in Meech’s bag. Shock and awe. We can hear BB fans typing ferocious tweets at this mention. Cries of “thief!” etc. almost drowning out the seventy billion jokes about how much food Meech keeps shoving in her face… but not quite, the nasty food jokes win by a nose. One of the funniest tweets about Meech’s “theft-gate” scandal comes from Ian Terry, Big Brother 14 contestant. Michelle has said she’d love to meet/date Ian and talks about him frequently in the house… apparently he doesn’t mind.

Hammock Nicorey

So, Meech and Ian haven’t even met yet but are having a more compelling relationship than Nicorey at this point. Surprise, surprise, folks! It’s going nowhere between Nicole and Corey. It’s newsflash city in here. Basically, Nicole talks for nine days solid about how she and Hayden didn’t work out because he wouldn’t ever get married and have kids and blah blah blah. Who told Nicole this was how to communicate? Maybe it was the same person who taught her how to listen because she fails to hear Corey’s many attempts at shutting the conversation down. In fact, the summation of the Nicorey story is that it’s bound for a major shutdown, all systems kaput. He said it at the beginning of the summer anyway, but for those who wonder if Nicole has changed Corey’s mind; he tells Victor on August 30th that, “I’m not coming out of the BB house in a relationship,” thus sealing Nicorey’s fate as a flash-in-the-pan. Shocker.

But not all duos are so banal. Victor and Paul remain boisterous and amusing at all turns. Victor does funny skits as a nature guide while Paul keeps the conversations scintillating – mostly. We just hope they can stay in the house a mighty long time… like maybe until September 22nd, season 18 finale night.

Nicole didn’t use the Veto in the ceremony of August 29th, so Paul and Michelle remain on the block – no surprises in that. Natalie’s the only one who’s noticed that Paul is all-up-in-that HOH and best buds with Nicorey now …but nobody else seems to care much. In Meech’s case, she’s basically given up and James hasn’t noticed because he’s actually on The Bachelorette right now and not even playing Big Brother. The plan remains to vote out Michelle but there are murmurings of possible interruptions to this on the horizon, as always. Right now, Corey intends to use the bribe on Victor so that he’ll vote Michelle out – as if FitVic would ever vote Paul out anyway, Ha!

Why would anyone evict Paul?

Still, the house seems relatively divided even as everybody pretends otherwise; with Nicorey on one side and Jatalie/Meech on the other. Paul and Victor continue to play the middle and keep everybody feeling comfortable with them, even Meech. It’s interesting how James dropped out of the HOH competition for Nicole and now he sits, resolute, on the opposite side of the house. One thing we know for certain is that in the same situation Victor never would have given it to her. He doesn’t respond to pleading when HOH is on the line. Victor’s playing the game. Unfortunately for those of us determined to be entertained, the houseguests are mostly horizontal these days, getting up to eat and chatting about nothing the majority of the time. But we do enjoy the workout sessions with Corey and Victor. They’ve taken on a new level of charm now that activity in the house has slowed to a crawl.

Corey and FitVic workin’ it out

The current feedster rumor mill worries about the imminent tie vote – a highly likely scenario. James and Natalie are set to evict Paul. While Victor and Corey will vote out Michelle. This tie means Nicole (as HOH) has to vote and break the tie, thus making the ultimate decision and therefore losing that evicted houseguest’s jury vote. Those of us watching the feeds for entertainment value (and NOT because we’re somehow emotionally vested with Michelle) are ready for her to go. She’s in full blown hibernation cave mode now. If all goes as we (and Meech) expect, Nicole would vote to evict her. This has been Nic’s goal all along. And, let’s be honest, she wasn’t getting Meech’s jury vote anyway.

We’ll keep you BB updated on Fetchland.com but will also be the first to admit that the feeds are a bit of a snorefest these days. You may be better off just reading this daily recap refresher while spending your valuable time enjoying the last few whiffs of summer. Count on us for the dirt when anything significant happens in the Big Brother house.

The August 28th TV show promises HOH challenge and juror Battle Back competitions but as soon as it starts we see the pre-competition dispute between Paul, Meech, James, and Natalie. Paul’s super pissed that Victor went home and it was on Michelle’s HOH. During this fight Natalie admits that she wants Victor to stay which permanently blows up Jatalie’s alliance with Corey and Nicole. Also, Paul calls Michelle a C-word, which she didn’t love. The genius of Paul’s fight finagling works only if he can keep Nicorey and Jatalie at odds, then get Michelle out of the house. If he can implement that plan he and Victor will sail through the middle to the winner’s circle.

HOH comp Final2 = Nicole and James

Next we see the HOH challenge and it’s a killer Loch Ness storm. Paulie’s legs are a massive assemblage of trembling muscles. Nicole’s eye makeup runs down her face and out the door. The houseguests struggle, shiver and fall, one at a time. When it gets down to the final two for the juror’s Battle Back position, Victor declares that although he’s in pain, that’s his house and he’ll be damned if Paulie will take his spot there. That’s how a winner wins. They gotta believe in it first, envision the prize, fight for it, and then finally own it. This fierce mental state’s how Victor ends up winning the Battle Back… again. Victor’s certain he can do it. So, he does. But that’s about all he can do – he’s a big guy after all. FitVic doesn’t make it to the HOH final two – leaving Paul up there to hopefully win it for them. After Paul falls off the wall, the final two (Nicole and James) make a deal. She promises not to put him up and claims that she JUST wants a letter from her mom. So, James drops for her mom and tells Natalie he trusts her because they’ve had each other’s backs all season.

Nervous Natalie

Paul isn’t so worried because he’s been “cozying up to her (Nicole) lately” and he has utter faith in his own social game. In fact, Paul trusts the sanctity of his position in the house so completely that he offers himself up as a pawn. Meanwhile in the less-trusting corners of the BB house, Natalie seems pissy that James sacrificed his chances at winning the HOH because this was a comp perfectly designed for him.

Then we see Corey get the care package and he “feels like a kid on Christmas morning,” of course. Thing is, the $5K bribe isn’t as important to Corey’s game as he claims (in his diary room session) because he doesn’t really have anything at stake with his girlfriend as HOH. Also, the fact that Corey wants to use it to “make the other guys do stupid stuff in the house” spotlights this fact. He doesn’t really need it. We at Fetchland STILL don’t really understand why Corey was chosen for this care package. But we’d guess that Nicole’s belief that Corey got the care package because he’s so loved isn’t quite the answer.

Final Four

In the next scene Nicole says she’s most threatened by Michelle. This leads to the ultimate bland team formation “Final Final Four” composed of Nicole, Corey, Paul, and Victor. Although it seems tainted by Nicorey, we’re just thrilled to see Paul and Victor still viable in the game. Nicole won HOH at a really great time for her own game and she made it this far without going on the block, which is impressive. Speaking of impressed, Meech’s ability to make it through the nomination ceremony without shedding a single tear shows some growth as well. So, now Nicole’s happy because she’s keeping her alliance with Paul a secret while also getting Meech out – her ultimate goal for the week. At the same time, Natalie and James are just grateful they aren’t on the block. Everybody’s happy… for the moment.

After an eternity of answering Paul’s hypothetical philosophy/ethical questions on the August 27th Big Brother morning feeds, the houseguests find out Victor and Corey are the Have-Nots this week with a supplement of squid and seaweed. In the afternoon all the houseguests play the Veto competition except for host, Natalie. Nicole wins the Veto and afterward Paul won’t leave her alone to think for even one second. It feels like an infinite chatteroni. Then Paul finally leaves Nicole in HOH only to talk Michelle’s ear off in the Have-Not room. He’s just doing jury management with her at this point and because it seems like Meech senses that, she drifts in and out of indifferent listening.

Paul yaps it up more and more

The plan is for Nicole to not use the Veto and leave her nominations on the block – Paul and Michelle. Victor and Corey will vote to evict Michelle and she’ll go. In the event of a tie, if James and Natalie vote Paul out, which they probably will, Nicole breaks the tie and votes out Michelle. So, either way, the plan means Meech is outie this week. Thing is, it’s only Sunday and this is all set to happen live on Thursday night’s show. In the Big Brother house that’s a long long time. Also, Paul can’t seem to shut his yapper and that may just have an impact on the sticking power of his friendship.

Nicole makes her nominations in the afternoon of the August 26th feeds. Meanwhile, earlier in the day TV watchers of Big Brother render us confused when they grant Corey the last care package with their votes. Why anyone would grant that to Corey is anybody’s guess. We honestly can’t fathom… First of all his ACTUAL name is Borey. Secondly, even if you were a Corey fan (for some reason) the care package is useless to him this week anyway because his girlfriend’s HOH. The guy’s not going on the block anyway, bros. Feedsters were hopeful that, because voting took place overnight (wholly between Thursday’s show and early Friday) only hardcore BB fans would make up the majority of voters. But “sadly mistaken” seems to summarize that theory pretty thoroughly.

Final Final Four congregate

Michelle and Paul (who volunteered to be a pawn) go up on the block with Nicole’s primarily intending to get Michelle out of the house this week. In fact, miracles do happen because it actually looks like Nicorey may stick to their alliance with Paul and Victor for “Final Final Four,” which they christen their union – a non-name standing in for a name. “Final Final Four” is the John Doe of alliance names. Of course, it’s unclear how much anybody tells the truth at this point. But when James finally treks upstairs to HOH for “the nomination conversation” Nicole tells him she’s not putting him up. Then right after Nicole tells Paul she’d put James up if somebody comes off the block with the Veto. The truth can only be told when we see what she actually does, so stay tuned.

annnnnd…. burnt the house down how?

The Have-Not part of Big Brother is likely over for this season, though not officially announced yet. James is the last Have-Not of August 26th and thus, at midnight he sits down to a celebratory burger and fries with Natalie. She eats with him and lists her doings of the day; didn’t eat all day, almost burnt down the house, slept, and then woke up really hungry. Whoah. Hold on… hold on… what was that thing in the middle of your list? It’s funny that no matter how eventful an incident might be, the Big Brother houseguests always surround it with their two greatest obsessions, food and sleep. Always.

Photo Credit – ATRL.net

James and Natalie are on the outs with Nicorey for certain but not as much as Meech, who goes into the BB cave, but only metaphorically thus far. Every season of Big Brother at least one houseguest goes into a state of cave-like living. Tiffany did a version of this early in season 18 with ehr sunglasses, hats, and sleepin’ 24/7. Cave-houseguests sleep all day and when awake for those few minutes to eat and pee, putter around the house with a blanket or some similar garment covering their entire being, a tented sloth. Many times the houseguest will even wear sunglasses in this state, to hide even deeper in their cave. Meech has thus entered the cave – though not yet clad in a sloth tent. She’s there mentally. It’s a state on non-being that happens when your nemesis wins HOH and puts you on the block. You called her out as a snake on national TV, so there’s really nothing to say now that she’s exacting revenge for that fun foray at her expense. What is there to do – really? Cocooning sounds nice at times like this. So, Meech has succumbed to BB hibernation but the game’s rolling forth with or without her. Stay tuned to Fetchland.com for all the latest and daily greatest.

The TV show of August 25th begins with a review of Paul’s masterful plan to set James and Natalie against Corey and Nicole while aligning them with Victor. He and Victor pretend to be at odds while Paul cozies up to Nicole and Corey. It’s genius and works in one way because it actually does get Paul closer to Nicorey. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work as far as getting James to evict Corey… Luckily there’s still the battle back aspect for Victor to possibly get back into the house right after his eviction.

Just one of the times Z calls P a BITCH

In other scintillating news the TV show reveals Paulie’s entry into jury house, where the disdain for him runs rampant and unchecked. Zakiyah calls him out as a “bitch” and it’s pure awesomeness to finally see Paulie face the consequences of how he treated her and the other women in the Big Brother house. Paulie attempts to call out Bridgette as a man-hater and she calmly explains that being a feminist just means standing up for women and that there’s no man-hating element inherent to it. This was glorious music to our agreeing ears. Wake up, America! The ladies keep their distance from Paulie in the jury house from this sublime confrontation forward and we’re thrilled to find out that Zakiyah and Paulie also subsequently maintain a healthy distance. She’s all grown up and next time Zakiyah’s in a relationship she’s going to be that much stronger in her sense of self. Hooray for personal growth!

James reacts to the second Battle Back

Then the show brings us back to the BB house where Victor is promptly evicted; thanks to James and his deciding vote. We’re mad at James because we love Victor – it’s not a bad game move for James. But then we’re immediately comforted when James finds out there’s yet another jury battle back competition. He literally throws his head back in exasperation. Ha ha! There’s also the glorious moment that follows soon after when Victor finds out he can battle back into the Big Brother game. His reaction says it all – certain he’s goin’ back in, baby! And, of course, FitVic’s right. Victor wins the battle back.

Nicole’s the new HOH

On the feeds right after the TV show the brutal HOH competition has a Lochness Monster theme and involves grueling challenges for the houseguests like hanging onto a wall in a major storm. Nicole’s the surprise winner of HOH and now we really see the brilliance in Paul’s buddy buddy bromance with Nicole and Corey right before this latest iteration of the game. Not to even mention the fact that Victor is BACK in the house. Paul keeps up his masterful social game while Nicole ponders who she’ll put up on the block. It’s tasty anticipation at this stage of the game.

We’ll keep you posted on all the upcoming events of the house including Nicole’s nominations and the subsequent fireworks. Our Puerto Rican Sensation is back in it, baby! Even if he gets nominated, Victor always has the veto and Paul’s immaculate social game on his side. BB history is officially rewritten even now because no houseguest has ever come back TWICE. If Victor ends up winning or even in the final two (hopefully next to Paul) that would make this historical event all the sweeter and more delicious. Stay tuned to Fetchland.com for all the latest in the Big Brother house.

August 24th feeds bring high drama to the Big Brother house. Paul and Victor stage a rift. Because the anti-Paul sentiment is trending off the charts right now in the house the duo did this as a strategy to try to save Victor from certain eviction Thursday night. It’s all going splendidly and with a mighty fervor until they reach the same roadblock that always arises in these fun house-flip situations – frickin’ James. Literally every time we’re at the tipping point of a house flip James turns our waterfall of joyful hope into torrential tears of frustration.

Anti-hero… literally

Why must he mess with us so? Partially it’s because James is looking out for his own game while we’re dead set on saving Paul and Victor’s. Little does James know that not everyone is pulling for him… but why should he care? Of course he should be focused on winning. We’d just rather not see houseguests win simply because they are “in the showmance group” which seems irrelevant to anything interesting. We’re here to be entertained.

Thing is, James doesn’t realize that not everyone in the house will be playing as he expects. Paul has a long talk with Corey and Nicole about how James plays both sides. They talk alone as a duo after the convo with Paul and agree that maybe they shouldn’t go after him because he could be a number for them given that Michelle is clearly siding with Natalie and James. So, depending on how things pan out after Thursday’s live eviction, it may NOT be all over for Paul after all. He’s covering his bases. We’re loving the games he and Victor are playing with the houseguests… You think were manipulative? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, bro.

Manipulative machinations at work

In better and potentially game-changing news, Thursday will certainly be tons of fun for us feedsters. The live show and eviction will include a houseguest battling back for their personal game revival. But also the HOH challenge will be aired live on the feeds right after. Yay! It’s set to be an endurance competition. With so much at stake this late in the Big Brother game, get set for a long long night of feisty drama and fun-filled suspense as the houseguests hang on and fight to stay in the game. Michelle and Natalie will have to sit out because they’re the former HOHs. So, it’s a dead heat between the revived houseguest along with the remaining four. That’s right! Only four. Either Victor or Corey will go Thursday, depending on Paul and Victor’s machinations and how big of a douche James turns out to be. That means either Victor or Corey will compete along with Nicole, Paul, and James. So, the revived houseguest has a pretty good chance of winning HOH. They’ll know they’re the most likely to be nominated next AND have the adrenaline surge still from fighting their way back into the house. We can’t wait! Game on, bros.

Right now, August 23rd, the houseguests have been living together for two months – 70 days, actually – and have settled in enough to show us at least two sides to their respective characters. We at Fetchland are using the current lull in action to explore the two extreme sides of each houseguest that remains in the house. Not to suggest that this is all we’ve seen in each of them, quite the contrary. In fact, our interest doesn’t lie in the “true nature” of these characters. We’re not into authenticity, baby. We want entertainment. Thus, we’re exploring the best and worst of them.

Nicorey

Nicole – At her worst she’s clingwrap incarnate; Nicole makes the same mistake she did in season 16 and envelops her game in man juice. It would be no biggie if Nicole didn’t completely lose herself in limerence. She’s still a kid. It’s puppy love. Meanwhile Corey is more like a man and he has had a really long relationship before (9 years) so he’s no puppy. That’s the main reason their showmance is hard to watch. The inequity of Nicole mooning over him with his distant gaze. It’s annoying to anyone who’s ever been in those shoes… And haven’t we all at some point liked someone a heck of a lot more than they liked us? It’s tough to stomach what’s happening to Nicole when she freakin knows better. Get your head in the game, girl!

But it’s not all bad with Nicole. She’s managed to stay off the block for seventy days! That’s no small accomplishment. Also, we’ve heard complaints about her bein’ a snake slithering to end on a bed of lies. Sure. She ratted out Da’vonne to Frank. She’s lied. Sure. That’s the good stuff, baby. It’s keeping her in the house. We just hope she’s also lying when she tells Corey she’d let him win in the end and fall on her sword for him. He’s just a guy. Take the money and run, girl.

Corey

Corey – just a blank space at his worst… Which sadly is most of the time. He gazes off into nowhere; or says nothing even though words seem to be coming out of his mouth. Even BB seems to be in on the joke of simple simple Corey and his complete lack of distinction. Nothing sets him apart. Showing his “love for Christmas” and dogs and all things frat boy with clips and funny bits tells us that Big Brother thinks it’s pretty funny too. It can be slightly amusing, but we’re not fans of his latest trick (talking up how little he cares about the game, going home, or winning). Either be in it to win it or get out. That’s what you’re there for.

Of course, there is an exception to this, and that’s when his adrenaline pumps. Unfortunately we only got to see this “beastmode side of Corey” during the ultra lightning quick double eviction when he was jolted by the blindside. This makes us wonder if Corey might be more of a player on his own, paranoid and lonely – now THAT’s the condition to play the game. Look how well he did that night after Zakiyah left and he was trembling with his first tremors of actual BB emotion. He won HOH and then Veto! Zip. Zap. We’d like to see more of that Corey and less of the schmoopie kissing and cuddling crap. We gave up that soap opera BS when we were seven… And outgrew it.

Jatalie

Natalie – Powerpuff at her best. Even if she keeps insisting on calling “girl power” when she’s, in fact, a grown woman and playing this game entirely for herself, she can be a powerful force. She’s a torpedo princess, the most delightful BB gif of the season by far is her telling Paulie to fuck off. If only she was on her own… That damn shomance is such a damper to Nat Nat’s flame. He’s gotta go.

But we can’t blame James for Natalie at her worst. That’s all on her shoulders. Every season one houseguest balloons in weight (usually a woman) because of lifestyle shifts and stress. It is that nobody really cares out in the world and if they do they’re not talking about anything interesting. This is exactly the prob with Nat’s reaction to her minor weight gain. She’s insecure about it. She’s vocal. It’s gettin whiney. We miss our princess powerpuff.

James

James – People pleaser extraordinaire at his worst. We don’t really understand James, we’ll admit it. As far as we can see he’s not playing Big Brother at all. He pleases the house and floats like a butterfly, which would be fine If he also stung like a bee. But he has no sting. How come Bridgette had to come to Natalie’s defense when Paulie was playing douchebag? Where was James? Oh yeah, silent. Remember how America gave him that care package so he could knock out two of the votes to that week’s eviction? Yeah and then he pussyfooted around that decision so many times until finally he just went with the larger numbers – pleasing the house, as always.

At his best James is an excellent boyfriend to Natalie. When she was sick he was patient, caring, and kind. He said and did all the right things. He was a dreamboat. This is the other side to his people pleaser personality. James cares deeply what people think of him. He cares too much, in fact. So, when you’re his sick showmance on a national TV show, it works to your advantage.

Paul

Paul – the entertainer at his best, Paul makes us so happy with his fun and frolicsome ways. This is a guy who knows how to have a good time and doesn’t care about looking a fool. He also cares little about what people think while maintaining a strong sense of self and that’s mighty refreshing. We see Paul’s entertaining aspects all the time like when he makes joyful frivolity out of his Secret Service penalty. There’s also evidence that he stays strong within himself, like how he distanced himself from Paulie for being a douche even though It was his strongest alliance in the house. That’s integrity, folks. But it was also the right move in the game at that time. Paul’s a natural at BB. He’s got good instincts.

At his worst, Paul talks way too much and all the name dropping and “I can get us into the coolest clubs” stories go far too long. It makes sense given that he’s only twenty three. But in every other way he seems much older, so this is the low point of Paul. Not too bad. We also weren’t big fans of the PeePee alliance, you may recall. But that was Paul trying to save his ass when it was on the line. That’s really just part of the game, annoying though it was.

Victor

Victor – our hero at his best is a dreamboat with good looks who cooks and cleans. He got Paulie out of the house. He battled back. He puts on funny puppet shows. He’s a great buddy to Paul. We could rave about Victor for another thousand words… but alas it just makes us all the sadder that he’s likely leaving this week. It’s possible he could battle back again (and make BB history) but do we dare to dream of such perfection actually happening? We do not. It’s too upsetting losing him again.

There’s not much to say as far as Victor at his worse. We hear from the other house guests that he eats too much without regard for their dietary needs but we’d be lying if we claimed to care. Yes, his laugh can be kinda annoying but have you seen him dance? He dances too. See? We can’t even get through the “worst stuff about Victor” without slipping into fitVic compliments.

Michelle – the lone wolf is the only player going solo these days… but it may not be by choice. She has so many quirks and, much like James, her best and worst qualities are made of the same stuff. In her BB intro on the very first night of season 18 she was already a character. Her collage of fears and conspiracies were funny stuff in Michelle’s mere 30 second segment. This actually summarizes Michelle well. Annoying, yes. But funny too. Her quirkiness is her best quality in many ways. She makes us laugh more than any other houseguest with unexpected little moments and quips that come out of nowhere.

Michelle at her worst is that same character full of unexpected flights of emotion, she makes everybody laugh or else she’s bursting into tears. It’s the same with her chats and plotting. She’s direct and blunt, a shocker. In the end it can be off putting and may be the reason the house guests don’t connect with her as well as she’d like. Michelle’s gotta work on those social skills. We’re pretty certain that when she re-watches this season she’ll get cracking on them. In fact, she already experienced quite a bit of personal growth through her friendship with Bridgette. Michelle has a long way to grow and we’re happy we got to see her start blossoming into her better self right before our eyes.

It’s a long week this week with all the grumpiness and grousing but we’ll keep you abreast of all the good stuff. So, check back here and on our Twitter @RuiningBB18.

On August 22nd Victor talks to the feeds while he plays pool and thinks aloud, “Like I said, I have an inkling that I am going home,” (Misses pool shot.) “Dangit, twice in a row! Just like evicted, twice,” and feedsters shake our collective heads in dismay that he’s likely correct. Michelle puts Corey on the block in Paul’s place when he uses the Veto on himself.

Does making cookies treat paranoia?

Thus Nicole immediately shifts into game mode; first yapping her lips all afternoon about what a great person Corey is compared to others who, “talk personal,” and “are hurtful,” then she makes cookies. There’s a rule in Season 18, it seems that as soon as you go up on the block you get mad domesticated. Since Nicole’s lost herself to Corey and he’s busy staring at the wall, it seems like she’s taking care of the homestead stuff for him. So, Victor’s cleans up at the house like Rain Man at the blackjack table and Nicole’s the current in-house Betty Crocker. She’s baking her blues about potentially losing Corey.

Finally a smile from Paul

Paul seems to have sensed the house shifting around him. So, even though everyone keeps telling him all is well with his game and that Corey’s going home on Thursday, his intuition tells him otherwise. Invariably when things feel awry in the Big Brother house, it’s for a reason. The big bummer for us = Paul doldrums. He talks to us about it in the wee hours of the morning because he took a long daytime nap and can’t sleep. He says he’s pretty sure he’s gettin’ “boned this week” and that Victor will go home. Paul notes that the showmances are obviously working together and he finds Michelle completely unreliable these days. So, now that Vic appears to be leaving, Paul assesses the potential resultant damage. His conclusions include that Michelle’s driving him crazy and he doesn’t understand her. At the same time she’s the one he could most likely beat in a final two situation. Paul describes her as “loose lips, can’t win comps, and destructive,” so he’s trying to figure out what to do next. Should he win HOH? Hope for the care package? Paul’s worried that with Victor gone he’ll be next. Of course, the house doesn’t know about the battle back but Paul mentions that he hopes maybe Vic can come back again somehow. The one time we get to see Paul smile on August 22nd is chatting with Corey. In their conversation Corey tells Paul he’s feeling anxiety and has never felt that way before. Even with this bit of happiness in Paul’s day… it was a tiny smile. We miss our happy Secret Service Paul!

On the bench… and the block

Corey, meanwhile tells Paul that Nicole is the ONE to take to the end because she won’t get a single vote. That’s not what Nic thinks Corey’s thinking about her when he says she’s “the one,” though. She thinks he’s smitten. Yeah, smitten with a $500K sure thing. Sometimes an action tells you a lot about a person… In Corey’s case it’s that clapping he did on the heels of Paulie’s tense overclap after the Natalie confrontation. The guy hasn’t got a clue when it comes to social cues. It’s not that there’s anything bad about Corey, per se. He just seems out of it. Literally, like out of the game. So far Corey hasn’t campaigned or even really considered campaigning to save himself this week. All he’s really done is say he doesn’t care and then have a late night/early morning chat about feeling anxiety for the first time in his life. Maybe this anxious feeling means he’ll start playing the game from here forward. The only sign of life we’ve really seen thus far from Corey was during that double eviction when his heart jolted with electricity from the Zakiyah blindside and he cranked out two wins in a row while bleary-eyed and baffled about what was happening. Where am I? How did I get here? Who are these people?

Paul pouts in hammock = boring conversation

But Baffled though he is, Corey does have one thing right. He tells Paul that if he takes Nicole to the end, he’ll win it all. Ugh. Please please don’t let that be the story of Season 18. There’s still a month left! Not that we care who wins… but we do care HOW they do it and smoching, cuddling, and napping are not a strategy or game play at all. Either way, Thursday night is around the corner and last hope all wrapped up in the beautiful sad burrito of Victor on the block. If he’s evicted maybe he can come back… truth is anybody coming back could be awesome if it pumps some blood into this dreary ass, anemic household. We need some action up in here!

On the Big Brother August 21st TV show they start with the Black Box HOH competition. Houseguests have to wait holding a button (harder than it looks, apparently) and then search through goop, feathers, and other gunk for discs to slid on their pole. The show gives us a bit of background from in-the-house before the challenge. Nicole told Natalie that Paulie said that Paul was “coming after James”. Nat immediately runs to tell James that Paul’s after him. This definitely contributes to Natalie’s decision putting him up on the block. Right before the challenge she was already pumped up with “protecting her man” adrenaline. Of course she wins it!

Meech as she leaves the Black Box

Meech, on the other hand, is first out of the comp, pissy and covered in feathers yet still kinda cute somehow. Houseguests still competing lose shoes in the goop, collect feathers in their mouths, and complain constantly. It all happens in the pitch dark and houseguests lie to each other about how close they are to winning. After the comp ends they count discs out in the open backyard. Corey found the same number as Natalie so they’re tied for first place. Then Natalie ends up winning by four seconds. She’s super excited and immediately slips into a rampant case of big-haired, indecisive HOHitis

Only the paranoid survive

Of course, after the thrill of winning that HOHitis fever takes hold along with nerves and indecision. Meanwhile Victor and Paul’s (justified) paranoia starts rolling especially when Victor walks in on a whispery Uncle Sam in the HOH bed with Meech and Nat. Nicole also plots and schemes with Natalie, Meech, and James . This explains why they nominate Paul and Victor soon after. It isn’t just that they believe these two are going to win the game but also the gossip about Paul’s lies and manipulating. The “future winner” reason is the smart one to give in the nomination ceremony, though because it’s a convo ender. Victor and Paul are humans, after all, with intuition. So, of course they suspect something’s up and talk about their fears. Still, it’s a shocker (to Paul) when it happens and their buddies nominate them. Victor was lucky enough to find out before nominations when they forewarned him and declared his “pawn” status but he doesn’t have time to tell Paul before the ceremony.

Paul’s special segment

The Big Brother TV show then diverts from the main story (the game) to do a little bit on Paul’s friendship time and some on Nicole’s clumsiness. Next we see the care package delivery to Meech. She can’t open it at first and shrieks about her epic box-tied-with-a-string struggle. Thus, because Michelle is Co-HOH with Natalie, they do the nomination ceremony together. It’s a big surprise to our favorite penguin-floaty-clad Secret Service agent. So. Paul says, “Shocking!” and then we know the confrontations are about to begin. Not friendship on all counts.

It was a disappointing day on the August 21st feeds because James, the deciding vote this week, wants the final four to be all showmances. Upon this proclamation, the collective grown of every feedster in the land could be heard coast to coast. Our mourning for actual gameplay in Season 18 begins now. We’re clad in black and feeling blue as F***. But then our travail of tears gets even worse… Corey rambles on forever about how he doesn’t care even the teeniest bit if he gets voted out or wins the game. He’s just like whatever, bro and then Nicole promptly offer to sacrifice her “game” for him. Not that Nicole has much of a game this season but to offer it up on a platter to a guy you met six weeks ago who JUST said he doesn’t care if he wins or loses. This isn’t Big Brother all of a sudden; it’s the Bachelor.

Secret Service springs into action

Nobody likes seeing Victor go back to jury. HOWEVER keep in mind there’s another battle back and if he gets sent home Thursday FitVic’s a likely winner. Maybe he’ll get another fancy belt too! All we know is that Victor and his sublime friendship with your boy, Paul keep our feeds worth watching. We here at Fetchland prefer fun and games to showmance scenery. Natalie’s great… when she’s playing the game. But when she’s whining to James, though, not so much.